Star Wars Battlefront

Description

Star Wars Battlefront focuses exclusively on the Galactic Civil War era, allowing players to participate in the iconic conflicts between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. The game is decentralised from any particularly narrative arc, existing within the environmental storytelling of planets like Hoth, Endor, Tatooine, and Sullust. It aims to place the player directly inside the aesthetic of the original film trilogy, utilising authentic sound design and visual assets sourced directly from the Lucasfilm archives. It provides a cinematic spectacle, emphasising the original feeling of Star Wars through high-fidelity textures and a dynamic John Williams-inspired score.

Gameplay revolves around large-scale infantry and vehicle combat from both first- and third-person perspectives. The flagship mode, Walker Assault, pits 40 players against each other in a multi-stage battle centred on the advance of massive Imperial AT-ATs. Mechanics rely on a “Star Card” loadout system for abilities and a token-based pickup system for vehicles and hero characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. While the title lacks a traditional single-player campaign, it includes missions that offer small-scale training, survival, and battle scenarios that can be played solo or in local co-op. On the Xbox One hardware, the game prioritises a consistent 60 frames per second, though this results in an internal rendering resolution of 720p to maintain performance during intense graphical sequences.

The reception was deeply divided between technical admiration and frustration over its scope. Critics praised it as the most visually and aurally impressive Star Wars game ever made, with the photogrammetry techniques resulting in environments that looked “ominously realistic.” However, it was heavily criticised for a perceived lack of content at launch and the decision to lock iconic locations like the Death Star and Cloud City behind a $50 Season Pass. Many players found the mechanics to be overly simplified compared to DICE’s Battlefield series. Its sequel, Star Wars Battlefront II (2017), addressed the primary criticism of the original by including a canonical single-player campaign and content from the prequel and sequel eras. The transactional aspects of the game also evolved despite ongoing community concerns. This original reboot entry established the visual and auditory standard for the modern era of Star Wars games, influencing the aesthetic direction of later titles like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It remains a unique entry for its singular, focused dedication to the specific 1977–1983 era of filmmaking.